Fourth, last FSCC president finalist speaks to community
Members of the community had the opportunity Monday to meet and speak with the fourth finalist for the Fort Scott Community College president.
Jim Genandt said he likes to have fun and believes education should be fun, but he spoke on some serious topics addressed by community members.
Genandt currently is the vice president for student learning at Neosho County Community College. Genandt also served as the director of development, director of continuing education and dean of human environmental science at Spoon River College in Canton, Ill. He also served as the director of continuing education at Southern Arkansas University and dean of human environmental science at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.
He said the reason he has had several positions is because he was following Dr. Jim Lovell.
"I would not be where I am in my life were it not for him," Genandt said.
He said he grew up in South Dakota, and asking what he can do to help others was "ingrained" in him.
He said he also has embraced five principals of learning. One of those is the original theory of the fifth discipline. He said creative tension can raise expectations.
He said he is passionate about community colleges because the quality of education in a community college affects the quality of the community, family and "definitely" the economy.
While he likes to have fun, and said most of the time he is on an even keel, he is competitive.
"But you would never know it, unless I win," Genandt said.
However, providing education for students is a team effort. He said he wants ideas from faculty and believes there must be a "healthy balance" between optimism and skepticism.
"You need to look at it and say, 'Does this sound too good to be true?'" Genandt said. "If it does, then it probably is."
He said while there are a lot of good things with a school and in the state, it "gets masked over by the bad news." During faculty meetings that are held regularly, he said he likes to ask what's going on in the laboratory and finding out the departments' needs or wants. He said after asking such questions, he recently authorized the purchase of a three-dimensional printer for the art department and a drone for the science department.
"Nobody likes meetings, but I like to concentrate on the good things," he said.
He said he also likes to build on traditions. Instead of hearing "We've always done it this way," or "We've never done it this way," he said it's important to explore the options instead of letting history limit what can be done.
While changes often can be made, there still needs to be boundaries, which is why it is important to review policies and procedures on a regular basis. If something is outdated, then it needs to be "tossed" or revised.
"We can have fun, but we need to stay in the pasture," Genandt said. "There has to be a fence around that pasture. But we can stay inside the fence and have fun."
He spoke of having a legacy and showed a photo of his family on the power point presentation he gave. He and his wife are adoptive and foster parents and also have helped raise a few neighbor kids. He said his daughter, Kimberly, 13, is one reason he does his job. She came into their home at only 4 days old and they were told if she had not been taken by DFC, she most likely would not have made it through the night. Over the years, some of her conditions, like scoliosis, have improved thanks to doctors.
"Somebody came up with using those techniques to improve the lives of others," Genandt said. "We in education touch lives every day. We don't always see the results of our work every day. It doesn't matter if you're faculty or alumni, all of us together shape lives every day and that can result in fantastic things for each other."
Response to questions
Vocational programs
Genandt said he has been involved in growing several vocational programs, a welding program and an allied health and medical lab technical school.
He said it is important to review programs and determine if some resources need to be reallocated.
Taking advantage of funding through Senate Bill 155 which provides financial incentives to school districts for students furthering their education through technical schools. Because of this, Genandt said, enrollment in NCCC's technical programs is up by 40 percent.
He said the college's welding program has expanded to include a technical lab at Garnett.
When speaking on the involvement FSCC should have with area schools, Genandt said that relationship is important and said he likes to meet with the superintendent, staff and counselor to determine how the college can assist the district's students.
"SB 155 is a success story," Genandt said. "It helps keep kids in school to earn their diploma so they can continue. It's imperative to work with area district staff to determine what we can do for them."
But that doesn't always mean having regular meetings. Genandt said college faculty should also get involved. At NCCC, he said the college works with one area district in which the college art instructor goes into the high school art classroom. Not only does this serve as a recruiting tool, but it also develops a closer relationship between the high school and college.
As for balancing workforce development with available funding, Genandt said it's important the advisory committee isn't just "rubber stamping" ideas, but expanding on them. However, he said care should be taken, as there are sometimes restrictions on how state funding can be used for some programs.
He said the key to obtaining funds for the right programs is to get feedback from employees, be flexible and work with the employers and human resource departments.
He said in the past, he has worked with HR staff to obtain a list of employees to determine their needs. For example, if there are some who are close to receiving a certification, which would be an area the college could provide some assistance. Maybe some of the employees could serve as course teachers in exchange for dual credit with the school.
Shared governance
Genandt said the college president cannot do anything without shared governance. In the past, at Spoon River, the faculty was given four-day weeks and weekly faculty meetings, which were held on Fridays, were better attended.
He said it takes time for shared governance to work, though.
When asked about his thoughts on the role of a college president, Genandt said, the board of trustees is the president's boss. But communication with everyone on campus is important. After each board meeting, a summary of the meeting is sent out to everyone on campus.
Also, Genandt said it currently is his job to keep NCCC president Dr. Brian Inbody informed on everything happening on campus so he is not surprised if and when a trustee asks him about an issue.
He said he welcomes feedback from all stakeholders -- whether on campus or in the community.
"I may not agree with you all the time, but I will listen and work with the staff," Genandt said.
Online courses
Before sharing his thoughts about online courses, he quoted W. Edwards Deming, "Change is not necessary. Survival is optional."
While some may resist the idea of online courses as providing quality education, Genandt said he has seen some face-to-face classes that were disastrous and some online classes that were "phenomenal."
The key is how the classes are designed and he said some colleges offer classes that are equally divided between online and face-to-face.
"It's important that it be done right," Genandt said.
Faculty must have the equipment and technology that works.
Consolidation
"I truly believe that the people who have the ability to make those decisions -- and it's not us -- will be greatly influenced by how well we can document the value of our success."
He said he spoke to Inbody about applying for this job.
"I think he and I together working at two institutions, can do a lot to help Southeast Kansas, which is the most poverty stricken part of the state," Genandt said.
He said poverty is broken when people get an education that will lead to a trade or additional education to lead to their profession.
"I think we are in an era where you're going to have to see some presidents step up to be what I call competitive collaborators," Genandt said. "This college can't afford to do everything you would like to do."
He pointed to the nearby competing colleges, such as Crowder College, Labette Community College. He said FSCC, NCCC, LCC and the auto school district in Independence already work together.
"I can tell you that the governor knows about it, Senator (Jeff) King (15th District), almost all the senators and representatives in this region know the power of that consortium," Genandt said. "It saves some money, allows us to use resources more effectively and reach more students."
He said there are things he has learned at NCCC that he would bring and try to implement at FSCC. For example, NCCC has a relationship with state regents' office and community that he wasn't to duplicate here.
"If someone comes up with a potential opportunity or a problem, I would love for one of the first five things that comes to their mind is, 'I wonder what the college can do to help us?'" Genandt said. "You have to build that kind of reputation and interaction to keep you safe in the future. It's based on what have you done, what can you do?"
The schools rate of success of earning a certificate, job placement and transfers will be scrutinized should the state ever become serious about consolidating, or forcing other actions on community colleges, he said.
On the other hand, Genandt said each college will reach a threshold on performance agreements (85 percent) because there are too many things that can't be controlled. For example, one department experienced two years when the students simply had bad attitudes.
"You have too look at the data over time and feed that back to the people who will threaten you," Genandt said.
He said he is a "political creature," which means he stays in contact with legislators.
"It's not so much to ask for something, but more to ward off threats these days," Genandt said.
He recommended providing information and said he always asks what he can do to help them.
"You want to put these people in a position where, not so much they owe you, but they realize you're helping them, so once in a while you can call in a favor," Genandt said.
A community member had used the state of small hospitals which, more and more, are combining efforts in order to survive, had been used as an example of what could happen to colleges.
Genandt said he is wary of hospitals' fates as it will have an affect on the nursing program, which has been a stable program for community colleges for year. Genandt said more urban hospitals are requiring a bachelor of science degree. NCCC and FSCC are working on a co-enrollment program for BNS with the University of Kansas and Pittsburg State University in order to maintain the value of the registered nurse program, he said.
"One of the key things you have to understand going forward over the next five or 10 years, nothing is permanent, stay flexible," Genandt said. "That's also the advantage a community college has over any other institution. We can move pretty darn quick compared to anything else in education."
Civic involvement
When asked how he would be involved in the community, Genandt said he likes to teach and serve as a guest lecturer when the regular professor is absent, or he has assisted with the quiz bowl, serving on the opposing team during rehearsal. He said he increased his participation with the student athletes after the federal government mandated there be instruction on the sexual assault issue. Genandt said he did about 80 percent of the talks.
"That increased my interaction, but that was very critical," Genandt said. "But it's very easy for a president to get isolated. You don't want to do that. You have to get involved in the community."
He said he currently serves on the Neosho City Human Relations Board, which hears citizens' complaints about city workers. He said that has allowed him to see both sides of an issue and also make contacts with both sides of the community.
"I think it's very important to show both the city and county government we're engaged as a college, we're here as a partner, what can we do to help?" he said.
That could mean getting involved in committees and councils of all entities, including schools.
He said he would like to find a church where he feels comfortable.
Historically, he has not joined civic organizations, but is always willing to speak at those groups to help educate the public on what is happening at the college. He said Inbody writes a monthly column for the newspaper and Genandt said social media is a must for communicating and recruiting.
"It's a combination of those things and it's not just the president," Genandt said. "It's empowering staff to get out and do the same thing. It can make some things fun and increase connections."
He said he has already asked that, if chosen as FSCC president, he receive four to five names of key people to make contact with who will assist the foundation.
"I'm the face of the college. I have to be out there," Genandt said. "But I also have to work with the people here so that I know everything's OK here."